Martha's So-Called Life

i've moved

2010-06-12T19:56:00.000-08:00

I will no longer be posting here (not that I posted that often to begin with).

Here is my new blog:
http://mfr1982.wordpress.com/

how to (cheaply) entertain your dog for hours...

2010-03-22T11:55:00.000-08:00

Take a kong, fill the small end with peanut butter and rubber band a piece of saran wrap over that end. Turn it over and wedge a treat in the big end, fill with water, and freeze.

I now have a dog happily trying to chip the ice out of her kong!

more pictures...fewer words

2010-03-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

Pink mountains on a spring evening...

And a few pictures of Kiva...

kiva maebe wilsonstein, dog genius

2010-02-27T18:26:00.000-09:00

After five years of (patient) waiting, I finally have a dog!!

So far she's accomplished a lot for a little dog. She already knows how not to pee in the house! She learned that one less than 24 hours after coming home. She's working on learning her name, she isn't so sure about going on walks but I think she'll learn to appreciate those, and she only has to get up once to go to the bathroom at night!

Snow dog!

Learning to love to sleep in her kennel:

Helping John cook dinner (he was making tuna sandwiches)!

fun with photoshop

2010-02-15T16:59:00.000-09:00

Given that I've had six days off this week, I've had a lot of time to think about a lot of things. While poking around on the internet I discovered a lot of awesome photographs that a lot of normal people took with a lot of normal (or slightly better than normal) digital cameras. I wanted to know why my photos never look like theirs. My trusty tiny Canon digital camera takes really good photos...but all the photos I looked at were better. John's awesome new camera takes really really good photos...but all the photos I looked at were better. After doing some more internet digging and digital experimentation...I discovered it wasn't me, or my camera, or John's camera...the secret is making a few (four at the most) simple adjustments in Photoshop. Five extra minutes of my time makes my photos look amazing! Here are a few samples:

Original:

Edited:

Orignal:

Edited:

Edit #2:

pictures and stuff

2010-02-15T15:16:00.000-09:00

John and I decided to use a new program to post our photos on the internets. Check it out here. The link can also be found to the right ("My Photos"). Enjoy!

of dogs and beds

2010-02-06T16:55:00.003-09:00

I might not have a dog yet...or know which dog I'm getting, but he or she will definitely have a place to sleep!
I ordered it from Molly Mutt. I liked the idea because we have lots of extra sheets and towels taking up space in our linen closet...now they can be put to good use!!

hospital etiquette

2010-01-24T16:11:00.003-09:00

Every day I am at work I watch fathers pushing carts of stuff down the hall on the way to their cars. They probably came to the hospital for the birth of their child with one bag, a carseat...and maybe a pillow...and were there for four days at the most. When they leave their things have multiplied at least twofold.

So, although you might think that you are being kind and generous by bringing your friend or family member who has just given birth to a baby a gift or some flowers...remember that you are probably not the only one who had that thought AND they are the ones who have to take all of those things home. More specifically, dad is the one that has to push or carry all of those things out of the hospital because mom is not allowed to lift things that weigh more than her baby.

I do however, have a solution. When you speak to your friends or family (which I also urge you to do before showing up at the hospital...don't show up unannounced...it's possible that mom and dad have been up for days, or that mom has just had major surgery...and they have a new baby to get to know...and they might be exhausted since babies are not born with a sense of day and night), tell them that you have a gift for them but offer to drop it off at their house when they get home from the hospital. And if you do show up at the hospital and they have bunches of flowers and gifts in their room...offer to take a load home for them.

It might not seem like much, but it will save some wear and tear on a new dads back!

prestigious family

2010-01-23T16:44:00.003-09:00

The Anchorage Daily News did a story on my cousins in Kotzebue: http://community.adn.com/adn/node/147056

Read it.

two years

2010-01-21T20:50:00.002-09:00

John and I have been dating for two years! Where has the time gone??

Unfortunately I had to work, so I came home tired and in a non-celebratory mood.

Good thing John is a thoughtful guy (when he wants to be anyway). He made salmon chowder for dinner in honor of the fact that, in his words, "I'm pretty sure I lured you to dinner with promises of salmon." AND he bought the first season of Scrubs on DVD because, again in his words, "that is how I got you to hang out with me." Pretty good for a guy who forgets conversations we've had three times! I guess he remembers the important stuff, and as much as I grumble about his general forgetfulness, the important stuff is fine by me!

smile

2010-01-19T13:54:00.001-09:00

What did you do? What did you say?
Did you walk - or did you run away?
Where are you now? Where have you been?
Did you go alone - or did you bring a friend?

I need to know this - cause I notice when you're smilin'
Out in the sun havin' fun and you're feelin' free
And I can tell you know how hard this life can be
But you keep on smilin' for me

What went right? What went wrong?
Was it the story - or was it the song?
Was it overnight - or did it take you long?
Was knowing your weakness what made you strong?

Or all the above - oh how I love to see you smilin'
And oh yeah - take a little pain just in case
You need something warm to embrace
To help you put on a smilin' face
Hey, put on a smilin' face

Don't you go off into the new day with any doubt
Here's a summary of somethin' that you could smile about:
Say for instance, my girlfriend she bugs me all the time
But the irony of it all is that she loves me all the time

I want to be you - whenever I see you smilin'
Cause it's easily one of the hardest things to do
Your worries and fears become your friends
And they end up smilin' at you
Put on a smilin' face
- "Smiley Faces" Gnarls Barkley

15 minutes of fame

2010-01-13T09:16:00.003-09:00

John has been very involved in getting Arctic Valley to open this year...a little too involved if you ask me, but no one did.

In late December an email went out saying that they were going to get a free full page ad in Coast Magazine. I had made some posters to recruit volunteers, so I volunteered to do the ad since I had something to work from...and in true Arctic Valley style there was a three day deadline.

So here's the ad that is published in the January issue of Coast Magazine!

so what HAVE I been doing?

2010-01-11T19:41:00.012-09:00

I am thankfully back from the land of night shift, until next fall...but I'll take what I can get. I'm not really a morning person, but I am DEFINITELY not a night person. I don't think I have ever felt so awful so consistently as I did while working nights. Days are much better.

John and I had a wonderful trip to see his dad in Vermont. The weather was cold but beautiful. Vermont is so scenic. Tons of rolling hills with old farmhouses, streams (this is the Green River), and the occasional random cemetery in the woods.

We went to the Ben and Jerry's Factory in Waterbury and on the way we (no joke) randomly stumbled across the birthplace of Joseph Smith. We stopped for lunch in a small town off the highway (as most towns in Vermont appear to be) and as we were driving into town we saw a sign with an arrow saying that it was 5mi to Joseph Smith's birthplace. Of course we pulled out our iPhones and investigated further...and it was true. So we went to check it out. However, we didn't get out of the car or make eye contact with anyone, just a slow drive by for some pictures.

The obligatory temple

And an obelisk serving as a monument to Joseph Smith, it's 38.5 feet tall, one foot for every year he lived.

After Ben & Jerry's, we checked out Stowe, since it was only a couple extra miles up the road...too bad we didn't have our skis.
We also went on a snowshoe adventure on about 2 miles of a trail that runs the entire length of Vermont. It runs across more than 200 pieces of private property and is only a winter-use trail (http://www.catamounttrail.org/)
Other things I did: read two books, beat John and cribbage TWICE (between John, his dad, and his brother, they probably have over 100 years of cribbage playing experience...I have less than two...granted we were playing on teams...John's dad and I still won), learned that maple syrup in my coffee is amazing, had the first (of three total) Christmas celebrations, went to a cheese factory and ate amazing cheese, and got lost in Boston after a snowstorm on our way to the airport after stopping for gas.

After I got home, it was back to work, and then I got sick, and was sick on Christmas. But I have since recovered and am now getting back into the swing of having a semi-normal work schedule again. Nothing terribly exciting has happened at work, just a few nutty patients with psychosocial issues that no one should have (much less make other people have to deal with).

A look back at 2009

2009-12-30T17:21:00.006-09:00

2009 was a successful year (although not quite as successful as hers: http://dooce.com/2009/12/30/2009-photos). I finished school, became an RN, and got a real job.

Here's my 2009, in pictures (minus anything related to school or work):

2009 in Pictures from Martha Rosenstein on Vimeo.

The song is "Around the Bend" by Asteroids Galaxy Tour
Most of the pictures are mine...although I stole a few off the internet...if they're yours...thanks!!

yup...still alive

2009-12-30T17:14:00.001-09:00

Working nights has caused me to do pretty much nothing but eat, sleep, and work...I'll be back to the land of the living next week...updates to follow.

work and such

2009-10-18T14:32:00.003-08:00

I realize that an update on how my job is going post-orientation is long overdue. The first couple of days were really hard. I suffered from massive information overload after 12 hours of everything being new. Next week will be my fifth week and I'm finally starting to feel comfortable with the daily routine. I've had a lot of really great patients and even a few patients that other people found difficult but I didn't have any problems with.

The most exciting thing that happened (and I don't use exciting in the positive sense of the word, it was actually a little scary) was I had a baby (the boy in a set of twins, who was also a whole pound bigger than his sister at birth) who dropped his temperature and had to go under the warmer. As he was warming up, we thought it would be a good idea to check his oxygen sats because he was breathing kind of funny. So we put him on the monitor and he was fine, then the nurse that I was working with left me in the nursery with him...and his sats started to drop...yikes! Luckily there was another nurse there, but she was dealing with another baby who wasn't doing very well. However, she was able to answer my questions while I was standing there not really knowing what to do. Anyway, the baby was fine, turns out his blood sugar was a little low because he was too sleepy to eat. It was very scary to be in a situation and not really know what to do or when to really start worrying.

In another couple of weeks I'm moving from the post-partum unit to nights on the prenatal unit for eight weeks. It's kind of like school...just when you start getting comfortable with something, they change things on you!

day one

2009-09-24T15:19:00.003-08:00

Yesterday was my first real day at work. It was long and it was busy, but I made it. For the most part, I followed the nurse who will be training me while she did all the work. It was a busy day so I ended up doing lots of little "menial" tasks. She was very apologetic about making me do so many little things, but I was just glad to feel useful!

I learned that I did learn something in school and I actually have opinions/ideas about the way things should be done! I had no idea! Mostly I suffered from massive information overload and by the end of the day I thought my head might explode (partially due to the extreme headache I had in the afternoon). Hopefully I absorbed something that she told me so when I go back tomorrow I can feel a little less lost.

a week of sitting

2009-09-20T17:39:00.003-08:00

I started working on Monday, although I use the term working very loosely. I sat for almost 40 hours of orientation...yuck! It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't just finished school. Most of the information was not new (to me) or was something that was drilled into me over and over again in school (i.e. wash your hands, it prevents the spread of infection).

I start real work on Wednesday and I am very much looking forward to it!

oh what a tangled social web we weave

2009-09-10T17:02:00.005-08:00

I don't know if this comes from living in Alaska or if it's because I've spent most of my life in one place or what. But I found out today that I (unknowingly) fraternized with the ex-girlfriend of a very close friend's (now) husband.

Now, we females have an unspoken code where we despise ex-girlfriends of boyfriends/fiances/husbands (past or present) of our friends. Same goes for the ex-boyfriends/fiances/husbands of friends...we hate them too. Which makes life more difficult when people start dating people they've already dated who we hate by default. It's a hard-won appeal to "the committee" to get those in good favor again.

Anyway...said friend tells me a story about husband's ex being at an event they attended over the weekend. Friend describes said ex to me...and a situation where friend's husband's sister was forced to work with said ex while ex was doing a rotation for med school through said husband's sister's unit. As friend is describes husband's ex...I say, "wait...I know her! I spent a whole evening with her!" Turns out an ex of mine was really good friends with her (friend's husband and my ex were roommates at one point...which is how friend's husband's ex knows my ex...which is a connection I knew about...thank goodness because at this point I doubt I could have handled it otherwise). Not to mention the fact that I saw friend's husband's ex on the same unit as friend's husband's sister works on while I was doing my rotation through there for nursing school. She (friend's husband's ex) did not recognize me and I chose not to bring our connection to light..thank goodness, that might have made things more complicated when I found out that I had to hate her by default.

Did you get all that? There will be a test later.

motivation comes in many forms

2009-09-05T17:51:00.004-08:00

Today I saw something that I really wish I didn't see (it's my own fault...but that didn't make it any less awful).

How did I deal with it?

Well, I took my trusty iPod and went running. And ran...and ran...and ran...for an hour.

Do I feel better? Why yes I do! I suppose that it helps that I may have seen a certain East High Alum, we shall call him AH, playing soccer with no shirt on at APU. Very nice...

Here's the playlist that saved the day:

Sort Of - Silversun Pickups
Hearless (Kanye West Cover) - The Fray
Run - Gnarls Barkley
Touch the Sky - Kanye West
Want You Bad - The Offspring
Lights Out - Danity Kane
You Haven't Told Me Anything - Keane
Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear
Tiffany Blews - Fall Out Boy
Shake Me Like a Monkey - Dave Matthews Band
Set Out Running - Neko Case

an early saturday morning rant

2009-09-05T08:19:00.004-08:00

Although I haven't been following the story very closely, what I have read makes me angry. No, not angry, I think I might be flat out disgusted. How dare the President of the United States want to speak to children about staying in school. Blasphemy! I think the Anchorage Daily News said it best (which is actually quite surprising considering that they pretty much never say anything best...or anything at all for that matter), "fear of Obama's school speech testifies to the need to stay in school and learn critical thinking." YES! If you can't send your child to school with the confidence that they will practice a little bit of critical thinking...then perhaps you should do some critical thinking about your parenting. I know I'm not a parent and therefore I really have no idea how these things work, but based on my own experiences being parented along with those of my close friends...I don't feel like expecting your children to think about things before they incorporate them into their worldview is particularly far-fetched.

It makes me so angry that closed-minded parents are teaching their children to be close-minded. Please, send your child to school, let them hear what the President has to say (oh here's an idea...listen to his speech yourself so you know what they heard), and then when they come home talk to them about it. Use it as a learning experience, as an opportunity to find out how they use the morals and values you have filled them with to process information. If you don't like what they took away from it 1. deal with it, they are obviously smart enough to think for themselves 2. agree to disagree or 3. help them to understand why you don't like what was said.

End rant.

the great scrub debacle

2009-08-31T21:06:00.004-08:00

Whew! Who knew that buying scrubs would be so hard. There's only one store in town that sells scrubs, and they have a pretty limited selection, which left me ordering them online. The problem...I don't know what I want/need! The possibilities are pretty much endless. Solids, prints, brands, number and layout of pockets. I don't put that much thought into my every day attire (is it comfy? and is it not ugly?) so why should I have to put so much effort into my work attire...they're just scrubs...which resemble pajamas...which are supposed to be comfy and not require such extensive decision making skills (which if you know me at all...you know that is NOT something I'm good at)!!

After two hours and $50 I managed to order one set. Then after a walk and some sustenance (and $50 more), I managed to order another set. The second set proved more difficult than the first. I ordered them from a different website and they wanted to charge me SIXTY DOLLARS for USPS Priority shipping. I think not! Then I had to find another website that had what I wanted and that wasn't going to charge me more for shipping than product. I mean, I guess living in Alaska I can understand that if I was spending $5-$10 on something, the shipping might work out to be more than whatever I purchased. But when spending $50 on scrubs (which are not heavy or bulky), I expect the shipping to be significantly less, especially when you tell me it's USPS Priority shipping. Do you know how many books I could ship for $50? A medium flat rate box is only $14.95 (how do I know this you ask...because I've been making a living selling textbooks online the cheaper the shipping the more $$ go into my bank account) and a pair of scrubs would definitely fit into one of those with room to spare!

Anyway, I found a place with much more reasonable shipping rates (thank god for the internet!) and in 7-10 days I will be the proud owner of two shiny new pairs of scrubs :o)

the wall

2009-08-31T10:00:00.003-08:00

I have officially hit "the wall." It's time for me to go to work. The only problem with that is I have to wait two more weeks. Don't get me wrong, I've thoroughly enjoyed my summer. I've been fishing and berry picking and reading and cooking and relaxing...all things I haven't done (or enjoyed doing) for awhile. I still have going to the fair and going out to the Copper Princess Lodge to look forward to. And yes, when I start working I'll probably wish for my unemployed life back (minus the part about not having any money)...but for the time being I wish to be a valued and contributing member of society. I want to pay back the people to whom I owe money. Let the countdown begin...two weeks...

unfruitful berry picking

2009-08-27T18:03:00.004-08:00

Another attempt at berry picking...apparently we were in the wrong place because we found no berries. At least it was a beautiful day!

shopping...but not spending

2009-08-22T21:06:00.003-08:00

I have no money...soon I will. I've started a list (really more like a compilation) of things that I want when I can finally afford to spend money on non-essentials again!

This is at the top of my list, but with the $600 price tag, it might be awhile...

Rancilio Silvia Espresso machine

Anything from lululemon, but especially the Beat the Heat Dress and the gym bag.

And these sheets from Crate and Barrel

And these cups to make lattes in:

And this to keep me warm. I have one of these shirts and I LOVE it (Christmas present from John...he does a good job).A girl can never have too much wool, especially when she lives in Alaska!I'm sure I'll be adding to this list...but that's all for now :o)

fish and bears...mostly bears

2009-08-22T19:02:00.006-08:00

John and I took one last trip down to the Russian River to see if we could top off the fish stash in our freezer. Sadly most of the fish were pretty much done for.

Really red fish in the river

John fishing

We also saw three bears...I don't like bears...

The two guys in this picture decided to throw rocks at the bear...

Fishing, but not catching...at least we weren't the only ones!

Yup, another bear...

But at least it was a beautiful couple of days (minus the torrential downpour that occurred on Tuesday afternoon)

berry picking

2009-08-16T16:57:00.007-08:00

Last week Brittany and I went and picked blueberries at Arctic Valley

letters

2009-08-10T15:25:00.004-08:00

Dear People Who Smoke In Their Cars -

I respect your right to do whatever the hell you want. BUT if you don't want smoke in your car...chances are that I probably don't either. Hanging your cigarette out your window at the red light causes MY car to fill with the smoke you do not want in yours.

Thank you for your time (even though I know you do not care),
Martha

-----------------------------

Dear Man on "Millionare Matchmaker" Who's 48 and Refuses to Date Anyone Over 28,

GROSS! You keep saying you want to settle down and have kids. But you're 48, you have to find a girl who is pretty much ready to get married and have kids...yesterday. Any girl who lives in LA between the ages of 26 and 28 who has those aspirations...probably already married, and probably already has kids. Maybe you should have thought about that 20 years ago instead of being so wrapped up in making millions. Also, stop being so picky and sabotaging all your dates.

That is all,
A grossed out 20-something

-----------------------------

Dear Leg Muscles,

Why do you continue to be so weak? I lung and squat and run and you hurt every time I do it! What the heck?

Ouch,
Me
----------------------------

Dear Daytime Television,

Stop sucking.

- An Unemployed Couch Potato

----------------------------

Dear Facebook,

Please stop giving me an excuse to sit on the couch and watch TV. Do I really need to be that connected.

Seriously....

----------------------------

Dear Job,

Please start sooner than Sept. 14. I need you.

-A girl who is tired of owing people money

-----------------------------

Dear Dinner,

Please cook yourself tonight.

Thank you.

motivational black hole

2009-08-08T14:58:00.003-08:00

I'm not having any trouble filling up all this free time I have. I am having a hard time filling it up with "productive" things. I use the term productive loosely because that's not really what I mean. I haven't exercised in almost two weeks. What?! I like exercise and I feel better (and sleep better) when I do it. But for some reason I can't make myself go do it...apparently I'd rather spend hours on my computer discovering new and useless things on the internet.

real customer testimonial

2009-08-05T15:57:00.003-08:00

I'll never eat another grocery store bought vegetable as long as I live. Ok, let's be honest, I probably will, but it will only be because I am desperate for said vegetable that can only be purchased from the grocery store (or "the grocery" as John's roommate calls it...she's from Georgia...what can I say). I've been going to the Farmer's Market on Wednesdays and buying vegetables. They're amazing. I bought a head of red leaf lettuce three weeks ago, not only was it the biggest, most delicious head of lettuce I've ever eaten, but there is still part of it in my fridge...three weeks later and it hasn't gone bad yet. Ha! No pesticides + no genetic manipulation = no rotten food.

This week I bought carrots. Sure they cost more than the ginormous bag of carrots from Costco, but they are the best carrots I've ever eaten...EVER. Ok, maybe it's just been a while since I ate "real" carrots, but that does not undermine their amazingness. Can't get your kids to eat their veggies? Give them some homegrown carrots and they will think they're eating candy!

favorite things

2009-08-01T22:44:00.004-08:00

I've had a lot of time on my hands lately...which means I've had a lot of time to think. Today I thought about my favorite things.

adventures in food

2009-07-31T20:40:00.001-08:00

I'm not gonna lie, I like food. I have recently come to terms with the fact that I probably enjoy cooking as well and I cook like my mom (which is a good thing). My mom can make something out of nothing. It's amazing. My favorite was always Cleaning the Refrigerator Soup...the recipe is quite simple, take the almost spoiled contents of the fridge, and put them in the soup pot. Ok, there's a little more to it than that, but not much.

Recently I adapted this recipe to Soup Made With Whatever I Could Find Plus An Onion From My Dad's House (he and Paula happened to be out of town and I liberated half an onion from their fridge when I went to check the mail). Chicken, black beans, onion, a can of diced tomatoes, carrots, some spices, and orzo. I put the ingredients into the crock pot and ignored, ignored it for many hours, and viola! Soup!

Then there was the pizza, I made my own whole wheat crust and put pesto, mozzarella, caramelized onions, sausage, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, roasted yellow squash, and feta cheese on top. Amazing!

Last, but certainly not least is the peanut butter/chocolate popcorn I made the other night. Pop one bag of light butter microwave popcorn and spread on a cookie sheet. Melt 1/2 cup of PB chips with one tablespoon of butter, pour over popcorn. Do the same with 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Let cool. EAT! It was so good...I had to try extremely hard not to eat the whole batch...John would have been sad if I didn't save him a taste.

So you think you know your food...

2009-07-18T21:50:00.004-08:00

I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (the fourth book I've read in just under two weeks). It might change the way I eat. The first thing that struck me was the amount of fuel I'm responsible for using up just by going grocery shopping. I never considered the amount of energy it takes to harvest, store, and transport food to my local Fred Meyer. The farther away it comes from, the more energy it took. We're not talking one tank of gas here, and one there, we're talking 400 gallons of oil per year per person. Here are some other interesting tidbits I learned from this book:

Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled an average of 1,500 miles
If every U.S. citizen ate just ONE...that's ONE...meal (any meal - breakfast, lunch, OR dinenr) per week (not day, but week) made up of locally and organically raised items, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels per week.
Most of the vegetables in the produce section are genetically altered to look better and stay looking fresh after being transported long distances. Although you might thing you are eating a nutritious tomato, you are really eating a vitamin lacking red sphere that vaugely tastes of tomato.
U.S. farmers produce 3,900 calories per U.S. citizen per day (twice what the average person needs). What happens to those extra calories? Well...the food industry has figured out how to get them into our bodies, the bodies of people who don't want to or need to eat 2,000 extra calories per day. Most enter our bodies in the form of high-fructose corn syrup.

There's more, but that's the most important. I am going to do what I can to eat locally...all year long. Yes, that's right, even in the winter time, in Alaska, where nothing really grows. Tomatoes can be purchased from a farmer's market (or grown at home, gasp) during the summer, and canned, dried, or turned into sauce and frozen for winter months. Other vegetables can be preserved in the same manner.

Meat poses a bigger problem. I feel comfortable eating pasture-raised or free-range meat. Especially after driving past a place dubbed "Cowschwitz" off I-5 in California. Cows raised in appaling conditions, force-fed a diet that is unnatural to them, and never seeing sunlight. Nope. These conditions support disease (mad cow included). There has never been a documented case of mad cow in pasture-raised cows.

The situation in this book is extreme, a family of four subsisted in rural Virginia on food they grew themselves. The food that they couldn't grow themselves, they purchased from friends or neighboring farmers who did grow it. It does not suggest that living that lifestyle is for everyone (or even them after their one year). It does suggest that we should think twice before we reach for tomatoes in the produce section in December. How far did those have to travel?

After reading this book, I will be more conscious of what I'm eating. I don't like the idea of having high fructose corn syrup put into places I never imagined, causing me to eat less but consume more calories than I need because I'm still hungry! I also don't like the idea of being robbed every time I go to the grocery store. Robbed of nutrients. If I pay $2.99 for a red pepper, I want $2.99 worth of nutrients in said pepper!

Nutritious veggies...I'll see you at the Saturday Market next weekend...

Playing catch up...again

2009-07-18T19:41:00.003-08:00

Things that have happened since my last post:
1. Went fishing on the Russian again, John caught two fish, I caught nothing...again
2. Interviewed at Providence Hospital for a Maternity Intern* nursing position
3. Went to the Copper Princess Lodge for some relaxation - in the process of said relaxation, I read a book (a whole one), got a (better) tan, and GOT A JOB! They said it would be a whole week before they made a decision, but they called me after TWO DAYS!! I'm really excited. I start on September 14.
4. Read three more books (that four in two weeks in case you were keeping track).

And now I spend my days reading and going to the gym, enjoying my life of leisure before I go back to being a contributing member of society.

*As an intern I will spend one year learning the three units (post-partum for two months, ante-partum for four months, and labor and delivery for six months). Then, they will place me on one of those three units (which ever has the greatest need for someone and/or whichever was the best fit during training), with the flexiblity to move within the three.

Fishing Adventure: Part 1

2009-06-29T22:45:00.007-08:00

Last week (Tuesday and Wednesday, John's "weekend") we went fishing on the Russian River. John had to spend Monday in Whittier for work, so I drove down Monday night to meet him. Since he was already halfway to where we were going, it seemed silly for him to drive home and then head out in the same direction the next morning. So we stayed in the luxurious accomodations provided by Princess (if you've ever been to Whittier you know that I'm being sarcastic). If you've never been to Whittier, let me tell you a little bit about it. First you have to drive an hour out of town to get there, then you have to pay $12 to drive through a really really really long tunnel (through a mountain) that is just wide enough for a train to fit through (you drive on the train tracks). There is only one building where people live there. The inside reminds me of bad college dorms. The condo we stayed in was ok...straight out of the 70s, but it was free for us. Princess has two condos in the building for employees that have to stay overnight (they turn their ships out of the port there), apparently we stayed in the nice one.

We got up early Tuesday morning, battled road construction, lack of coffee, and motor homes on our drive to Cooper Landing. We parked at the Russian River Campground ($11 for 12 hours), which turned out to be extremely convenient. There is a bank preservation project in place, so there is a boardwalk running most of the length of the river. The trail was just down the hill from the parking lot, and we found a spot to fish less than a 10 minute walk from where we parked.

Now, I haven't been fishing since I was maybe 10. And even that was probably with a stick and some fishing line in the creek at Chickaloon. This fishing was very different. Not to discount John's outdoorsman knowledge, but he went fishing a few times last year and caught nothing. Needless to say, we were quite the pair. Everyone around us was catching fish left and right, we caught nothing. The fish were swiming up the river in front of us by the hundreds, and we still caught nothing.

We thought maybe we should try a new spot, so we walked toward the confluence of the Kenai River and the Russian, this is what we found there...
Needless to say, we went back to our quieter spot.

After a few more degrading hours we decided to call it quits for the day. The most exciting thing that happened was we saw a bear, a black bear thank goodness. At first look, this bear does not appear to be terribly ferocious, but it was. It made a little kid cry by doing nothing other than walking up and down the opposite bank. It apparently didn't think the fishing was very good either because it disappeared without so much as a nibble.

The good news is that our accomodations we much more luxurious on Tuesday night. John got us a room at the Kenai Princess Lodge in Cooper Landing. Day two was much better. After a little coaching from some very nice men who were catching fish left and right, John started catching fish...FINALLY. I caught nothing...and then my pole broke (I'm pretty sure it was close to the same age as me, I was borrowing it from my dad).

First there was one fish...

Then there were three...

Hooray, five fish!!!
And for your viewing pleasure...a video of John killing the first fish...

We got rained on and hailed on and after five fish we were done. At first we were disappointed that there were only five fish, but after we had to carry them back to the car and then gut, fillet, and vacuum pack them, we were glad there were only five. This week, we're going back for more...

It's official!

2009-06-20T22:14:00.001-08:00

I received this in the mail today...

Since last time

2009-06-19T15:58:00.004-08:00

1. Brittany and Jeremy's wedding (5.30.09) - Freezing cold, but beautiful and fun!
2. Allison and Sam's wedding (6.6.09) - not freezing cold, but also a blast!

3. Studied for, took, AND PASSED my boards!!! I'm an RN!
http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/occ/OccSearch/Detail.cfm?Board=NUR&LicType=R&LicNum=30187

I have an interview for a maternity intern position at Providence on July 6. I put in an application at the other hospital in town but have yet to hear anything from them.

Also, my dad found out yesterday that he won his Supreme Court case. It's been a good week!!

Things that have happened since my last post...

2009-05-18T09:37:00.002-08:00

1. Completed 160 preceptorship on the Mother/Baby unit at Alaska Regional Hospital
2. GRADUATED from nursing school (and received authorization to take my boards...June 15 is the big day).
3. Went on a Mexican cruise that went to California instead.
4. Visited a good friend in L.A., went to Disneyland for free, and saw four famous people.
5. Moved in with John

That's pretty much it. I'm working on applying for jobs and studying for the boards (and working on my tan buy studying outside).

My dad and the Supreme Court

2009-03-04T09:22:00.003-09:00

This past weekend, I traveled to Washington DC to watch my dad argue a case in front of the United States Supreme Court. It was a pretty amazing experience. To start the morning off, it had snowed about two inches, a relatively uncommon occurrence in DC. This put a twist in our attempts to get to the Supreme Court. My step-mom and I had planned on taking a cab, but given the weather, there weren't any driving around in the streets. The hotel front desk offered to call, but couldn't tell us how long we might have to wait. It turned out that we extremely lucky because, on a whim, a man who runs a car service out of our hotel, decided to come to work that morning. He drove us and said that however much we wanted to pay him would be fine. I didn't know people who were that wonderful existed! So we made it.

When we arrived we got to go in the "special" door because we were guests of a lawyer. The line here was supposed to be much shorter, but there was a school group there that day. I did some investigating and a lady with the school group told us to go in front of all of them. Immediately inside the door, there is a metal detector and an x-ray machine that you have to go through. The security guard who was running the operation was very severe. He insisted that the door remain closed and that you must walk through the metal detector at a "normal" pace. After the first security check we asked the information desk where we were supposed to go next. Since we had reservations, we went upstairs, checked our electronics, jackets, bags, etc. into lockers and then gave our names to the man in charge of the reservations. We then stood in a line and were eventually led into the courtroom. Wow, what a room. Here is a picture I found online:

When we got inside, it was packed. At 10:00 things got rolling. During an oral argument, the two sides have 3 minutes to present their position on the issue. The court already has the background information, contained in a series of briefs submitted several months before the argument. Here's the link: http://www.scotuswiki.com/index.php?title=District_Attorney%27s_Office_for_the_Third_Judicial_District%2C_et_al._v._Osborne
So he talked for about 45 seconds and the Justices started asking questions. They were brutal. Then when his time was up, the other side got to do the same thing. After my dad's time was up, I was sure that they had beaten him up pretty well, but after the other side finished, I realized that my dad had done a wonderful job.

Here is the transcript from the argument: it's Case #08-6 http://supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts.html
My dad also had the opportunity to do an interview on NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101277033
And one with APRN: http://aprn.org/2009/03/02/high-court-hears-alaska-criminal-dna-case/

It's hard to get a picture of what was going on from the transcripts. The time of the argument is the first time that the Justice's have every discussed the case, so there was a little bit of interrupting going on. It was also apparent who had read all of the material and who had not. At one point one of the Justice's refers to a "new" law or procedure, and another one corrects him saying that it's not new. It was also very obvious that they did not all agree with each other.

This was an amazing experience. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to go and I am extremely proud of my dad for all the work he did and for sticking with it even though the whole experience was extremely stressful for him.

Don't get plutoed

2009-01-25T16:05:00.002-09:00

In 2006, the American Dialect Society voted "plutoed" as the word of the year. According to the society, to pluto is to demote or devalue someone or something, as happened to the former planet Pluto when the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided Pluto no longer met its definition of a planet.

2009-01-07T16:26:00.003-09:00

I realize it's been way too long since I last posted anything. I haven't been up to anything exciting. Next week I have to go back to school...which I'm not excited about, but it IS my last semester. I had a wonderful Christmas. John and I went to my parents' house for Chritmas Eve dinner and Christmas morning breakfast. I went to Grandma's for Christmas day lunch. Then I went to John's mom's house with him for Christmas dinner. It was a busy couple of days! After Christmas, John started his hunt for a house. My friend Cassie is a real estate agent, so we went tromping around town the day after Christmas looking at condos. He found one that he liked and actually made an offer on it yesterday. I think it's exciting. He's mildy terrified. For New Years Eve, some people that John works with got a suite at the Westmark Hotel downtown and we all went over there, played Wii Fit, ate, and laughed in the New Year. I made it to about 12:15am and then had to call it a night. Apparently I'm not the party animal I used to be.

The last week or so has been frigid (-20 as a low temp and if we're lucky, 0 for a high). So I've been hiding inside trying to stay warm and hoping that my car starts. The forecast says it's going to warm up by Friday...I'll believe that when I see/feel it!

Word of the Day

2008-12-22T17:44:00.002-09:00

From dictionary.com's "Word of the Day:"

laggard \LAG-erd\, adjective, noun:
1. a person or thing that moves too slowly or falls behind
adjective:
1. falling behind; slow

Yep, that describes me today. I sat on the couch and did almost nothing all day long. Technically, I'm not falling behind because I have nothing that needs accomplishing, but I would definitely say that not showering or getting ready for my day until 4:00pm counts as moving too slowly. I watched some quality daytime television, ate leftovers for lunch, made myself some coffee around 2:00, and showered at 4. So now that it's 6:00 I'm ready to start my day...

Good thing there's always tomorrow to accomplish all the things I didn't manage to accomplish today (a few last minute Christmas things, the gym, and some serious present wrapping)!

May the punishment fit the crime

2008-12-14T17:47:00.001-09:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/13/AR2008121302147.html?hpid=topnews

What an interesting concept of justice...

The First Anniversary of my 25th Birthday

2008-12-13T18:42:00.002-09:00

This year on my birthday, in addition to thinking about how OLD I am getting...I was thinking about how much things change in a year. It's kind of amazing really. I wonder what things will be like in another year...

As for the rest of my life, things are chugging along. I ONLY HAVE ONE MORE SEMESTER LEFT UNTIL I'M DONE WITH SCHOOL. I am more than thrilled about that. I thought the end would never come...and here it is, staring me in the face. Only 14 weeks of school stand in my way. That might sound like a lot, but when you've already endured 14 weeks x 4, it really isn't so much (I'm not in the mood to actually do the math).

Also, John comes home from his 5 week grand tour of Eastern Europe TOMORROW. Hooray!

That's about it...

A new perspective

2008-11-19T08:35:00.002-09:00

Yesterday in clinical I spent the day in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). I think I am going to get "DNR" tatooed across my chest. The patient that I helped take care of was on a ventilator and was sedated. He had been sedated for nine days. He was in respiratory failure because he had pneumonia in addition to acute liver failure (his body couldn't process fluid very well and it overwhelmed his lungs). The theory behind his treatment was that once he got over the pneumonia, he would be able to be taken off the ventilator. My thoughts were...what if he couldn't be taken off the vent? Did he say goodbye to his family before they intubated and sedated them? What sort of mental repurcussions does being sedated for nine plus days have on a person? This experience really made me reconsider what actions I want taken if I am ever sick or injured.

Mid-semester vacation

2008-11-09T23:21:00.002-09:00

My trip to Seattle a couple of weeks ago was wonderful. I met John in Seattle the day his post-season meetings ended (Wednesday), he came to pick me up from the airport and then we headed south to The Dalles, OR. We drove through central Washington instead of taking I-5. We've both seen that stretch of I-5 more times than we care to count. The drive was pretty. Unfortunately John was not excited about stopping at the Historic Mural Museum in Toppenish, WA. Also, despite what you might think (and contrary to what the billboards tell you), Yakima is definitely NOT the Palm Springs of Washington. Definitely false advertising.

We got to The Dalles, ate dinner, and headed out to John's aunts house. She lives on a farm about ten miles outside of The Dalles. The next day we headed in to Portland (about a 2 hour drive West) where we went to visit his Grandma in the hosptial. She had bypass surgery about a month ago and then suffered a stroke about three weeks ago. She's doing well. She was unable to speak when we saw her, but she was all smiles when we showed up. One of John's cousins was there too. He has been sending out daily updates on how she is doing, and when he sent one that mentioned that John and I had been there...he got more emails back about me than he did about grandma! After we left the hospital we had dinner with Courtney (my roommate before she moved to Portland) and then we headed to Margaret's house (a friend from college). Friday we visited John's grandma again and then went to a Blazers game with Margaret. After the game we met one of John's friends from college and went out on the town (well...one bar). It was amusing, being Halloween and all. Saturday, after a DELICIOUS breakfast, Margaret took us to OHSU where we rode the tram down the hill and back up. Then John and I headed back to Seattle.

In Seattle we stayed with Kerra (my roommate in college...she still lives in the same house I lived in too). We did a lot of eating there. Thai food for dinner, Molly Moon's for dessert (http://www.mollymoonicecream.com/). I had balsamic strawberry ice cream. It was amazing. Sunday we went to Zoka for breakfast, had some Vietnamese noodle soup for lunch, did some shopping at UVillage, and went to Etta's (a restaurant in the market) for dinner. Monday we said our goodbye's to Kerra and David (they had to go to school) and headed back to Zoka for breakfast. They had my favorite...ginger peach scones! We ate at Aladdin's Falafel Corner on the Ave for lunch. I had the most amazing falafel I've ever had (sorry grandma) and John had a gyro that was rather large and very tasty. We stopped by the Museum of Flight since we had some time to kill before going to the airport and then returned our car and came home.

It was a short and relatively busy trip (although I feel like we didn't DO much of substance...but that was kind of the point), but wonderful and much needed. Now John has run off to Europe for five weeks and I'm slogging through the last five weeks of my second to last semester of school!

For Greg

2008-10-26T20:04:00.004-08:00

I recently recieved some very sad news. A good friend of mine killed himself last week on Thrusday. It's one of those things that you hear about all the time and hope dearly that it never happens in your circle of friends. I worked with him at Royal Celebrity Tours for the past four summers and he and I briefly dated last year about this time. Most recently we were on good terms. Given the fact that I worked at RCT again this summer, I decided it was just easier to forgive and forget and go on being friends.

I'm having a really hard time dealing with this. Actually, I'm not dealing with it all. I don't know HOW to deal with it. How do you deal with the death of someone who, at one time, cared about very deeply. I guess part of the issue is that since we ended things, I have been the standoffish one and I feel like if I had more time, I could have gotten over that and we could have gone back to being "normal" friends again.

I thought that writing him a letter might help. But it didn't...because now I have this letter and nothing to do with it. So, I've decided that I'm going to cast my letter into the abyss of the World Wide Web. I'm pretty sure that the dead don't check their email, but maybe they can read things that are floating around on the electronic superhighway. The internet does everything else...why wouldn't you be able to use it to tell those who have died how you feel? So...here it is...

Dear Greg,

I have so much that I want to say...and yet it all seems so pointless. I am sorry for whatever

happened to you that made you feel like you just couldn't take it anymore. You were always

so generous in giving help to others, it is unfortunate that you never were able to ask for it or

accept it on your own behalf. You always said that you didn't really like to talk about things.

Neither do I, and if nothing else, I guess I will take this this as a lesson in how important talking

about things can be. Sometimes it helps just to tell someone else what you are feeling. It makes

it a little more bearable, even if the other person says or does nothing.

I want you to know that I am extremely sad. I am sad not just because I lost a good friend, but

also sad for all the other people who have lost a good friend too. There are so many people out

there that would have done anything keep a good friend around. I am heartbroken at the thought

of you out there all alone. The image of you lying in the bushes in the dark truly breaks my heart.

No matter how much you do not want to live, you should NEVER have to die alone.

I am also angry. I'm angry at you. Did you think that no one cared? Or that we wouldn't miss you?

Did you care that we would miss you? I realize that you probably were not thinking of anyone else,

but you must have been because you called someone. Someone knew where to find you. I know

you have been through a lot, especially this last year. Were you just tired of waiting around for it

to get better? Were you afraid that it might just get worse? Again, I know you were probably not

thinking of anyone but yourself, but did you ever consider what those of us you left behind have

to go through? I can't help but wonder if I, at any point in the four years that I have known you,

contributed to your decision in anyway. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one either. Now we all are

all left wondering how we could have missed all the pain you were experiencing. We all want to

know if there was anything we could have done, something we should have noticed. But worst

of all...did we have anything to do with it?

Were you scared? Was it hard for you to do? Have you been planning this for a long time or did

you just decide at the very last minute that you couldn't take it anymore? Did you think about

what would happen to your dogs? Your house? Did you think about what everyone else would

have to do to take care of all you things? Did you even care? Did it hurt?

This may sound terrible, but I would also like to thank you. Thank you for making me realize

how incredibly important it is for me to tell the people in my life how I feel about them. I guess

I never know when I might be seeing them for the last time. I am going to try my hardest not to

let my feelings go unsaid. With that said, I want to tell you that I'm sorry if I haven't been the

most pleasant to you over the last year. First I had to deal with the fact that you hurt my feelings

pretty badly by lying to me. Then I had to deal with the fact that every time I talked to you I felt

like you were trying to wriggle your way back into my heart again. I dealt with that by being

standoffish. Not the best choice, I know. Nothing hurts me more than knowing that if I had more

time I could have gotten over all of this...and then maybe we could have gone out for coffee again

like we used to. Asfriends.

I wish that when you came to get coffee on Monday I would have known that I would never see

you again. I wish that I could have said goodbye. Given you a hug. Or wished you all the best.

I hope that wherever you are now is better than wherever you were before. Please know that we

all cared and that you will be missed.

Always,

Martha

My triumphant return to the gym

2008-10-21T17:08:00.003-08:00

So I finally got my act together and joined the gym. It's amazing what some good music and 45 minutes of gut busting exercise can do for the mind. I'm glad that the gym has declared itself the "judgment free zone" because I might have been dancing while I was stretching (I can only imagine what people thought in spite of the judgement free environment).

John made me go both Saturday AND Sunday (such a slave driver...I know!) but I had to force myself to go alone today. But now after my 45 minutes of hell, a shower, and some delicious food...I'm feeling much better!

Something to chew on...

2008-10-17T16:13:00.001-08:00

Just something to think about from a blog I read (www.dooce.com)

Why any woman who intends to vote for McCain should reconsider

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17 2008 FILE UNDER: DAILY

Two of my favorite bloggers in the past couple of days have explained in succinct detail why we (women in particular) should be sickened by John McCain. I implore you to take the time to read these, they're not just a bunch of liberal propaganda or pro-choice cheerleading. These are stories of people's lives.

From Alexa at Flotsam:

McCain states that he would deal with the issue of abortion with “courage and compassion.” I quote: “the courage of a pregnant mother to bring her child into the world and the compassion of civil society to meet her needs and those of her newborn baby.” As if terminating my pregnancy would be the easy way out, the way not requiring his precious “courage.” As if dictating my medical care based upon his religious beliefs is compassionate. And I find it interesting to note that his “compassion” for this newborn does not extend to guaranteeing it health insurance.

And Julie from a little pregnant:

He means us when he holds up his hands and says with that single scornful gesture that we don't matter. That we are a figment of the "pro-abortion movement's" imagination. That — what, we're making this whole "staying pregnant might kill me" thing up?
... even if you're implacably, unconditionally opposed to abortion, a matter on which reasonable people disagree, I don't see any way a thinking person can look at those air quotes and see anything but pandering, contempt, and a dangerous willful ignorance.

"Fall" in Alaska

2008-10-17T09:55:00.002-08:00

This picture is from last week. I love "fall" in Alaska!

On death and dying

2008-10-17T09:43:00.004-08:00

I learned today that a patient I took care of a couple of weeks ago died. She was 8 years old and had a brain tumor. This was the third time that she had a recurrence. Her radiation therapy and chemotherapy gave her an infection in her lungs that she was not able to overcome.

I know death is a normal part of working in the field of medicine, but that doesn't make it any less sad. The saddest part is that her parents didn't want to tell her that she was most likely not going to make it. I realize this conversation would be extremely difficult to have with an 8-year-old, much less your own child. But kids have amazing intuition and she probably knew that something bad was going to happen. I think that having that conversation with her could have relieved a lot of anxiety for her. Her parents just wanted her to be happy, but it's hard to be happy when you're scared because you don't know what is going on. I know this isn't my decision, but I think I would feel differently about her death if I could believe that she wasn't scared.

I doubt that having patients die will ever get any easier. In fact, I hope it doesn't, because death is not something that I ever want to be desensitized to.

Pictures

2008-10-03T18:11:00.001-08:00

I FINALLY uploaded the pictures from my camera from John and my trip to Copper and our hike on Powerline Pass. You can view them by clicking the link on the right to "My Pictures"

Getting political...again

2008-09-26T21:28:00.003-08:00

So I acted like an adult today and watched the first round of presidential debates...big mistate...they just made me mad. Not that I was ever going to vote for McCain, but he DEFINITELY lost my vote with his little plan to stop spending money on anything but defense and taking care of our veterans. Excuse me?! What about the rest of us?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/xxfactor/archive/2008/09/27/i-like-veterans-as-much-as-the-next-girl-but.aspx

Back to school

2008-09-15T20:38:00.003-08:00

After a WONDERFUL two week vacation from school, I'm back to the grind again. During my break I got a chance to play a little and work a little extra. John and I took a trip to the Copper River Princess Lodge (http://www.princesslodges.com/copper_river_lodge.cfm) just outside of Copper Center, AK. We lucked out and got a room there the one week that they weren't completely full (in order to get the$25/night employee rate, they have to have at least 10 empty rooms...and there's only 80 rooms in the whole lodge). It was so nice to just relax and not have to worry about anything. I will post pictures as soon as I get them onto my computer. We took a couple of walks, a late morning walk down to the Klutina River (about a mile each way) and an after dinner walk on the "Back 40" Trail...but that one was cut short by a torrential downpour, in which we got completely soaked. We warmed up by ordering some chocolate fudge cake, sitting in front of the fire in the lobby, and playing cribbage. On our way home the next day we went to the Tolsona Mud Volcanoes (http://www.nps.gov/wrst/planyourvisit/upload/Mud%20volcanoes.pdf). It was a short trip (and a long drive, 3.5 hours each way), but exactly what I needed.

Two weeks John and I hiked up Powerline Pass from Indian (usually people start in town and go out to Indian, we went out and back from Indian). It was nice to get out in the almost fall weather. Again, I will post pictures when I get them onto my computer. It was supposed to be a "training" hike for me because I was going to run a race that goes over the pass (13 miles total). However, last week I was running with a dog (who shall remain nameless so as not to tarnish her otherwise spotless reputation) and she decided to stop dead in front of me. I proceeded to trip over her and fly through the air and landed smack onto my knee. So now I am nursing and injured knee...and will not be running the race.

Anyway, I'm back in school now. I start my Psych rotation in clincal tomorrow and on Wednesday's I'll be in Pediatrics. Those should both be good for some stories...

Please make it stop...

2008-09-07T15:11:00.003-08:00

NOTE: If our relationship will be greatly affected by the fact that we may have different opinions on certain sensitive subjects...please do not read this. However, I will respect your beliefs if you will respect mine.

I hate politics and I try not to get too worked up about political issues. But recently that's gone out the window. I am tired of hearing about Sarah Palin. Really, I'm just tired of her in general. As a woman, I'm offended at McCain's choice of Palin for VP. He needed a woman...any woman would do...so why not chose a good-looking woman that's much younger than him and 75% of the people who are going to vote for him. Who cares if she knows what she's doing, people will be so distracted by her looks that they won't care what she is or is not saying or doing. Makes perfect sense, right? I'm even more annoyed that the whole "hockey mom" role is being played up as a good thing. When do you think was the last time she took her kids to a hockey game or school? I'm pretty sure she's been a little busy running the state and now she's a bit preoccupied with this whole VP thing. Yes, she's a mom, but she sure is heck isn't BEING a mom right now. I'm pretty sure she's too busy traipsing across the country trying to win an election.

McCain and Palin's take on many things scare me. They are definitely for abstinence only sex education...because IT WORKS. And now her daughter is pregnant. Sex ed is not condoning pre-martial sex, it's simply a way of telling young people how to protect themselves from disease and pregnancy whenever they do decide to have sex. How many teenagers (ourselves at one point in our lives included) do you know that wouldn't do something if you told them not to? I don't know that very many would. We don't let kids drive cars until they are at least 16, but we teach them how (with a learner's permit) before we let them loose. Sex ed is kind of the same deal. We are simply teaching them how to be safe even if we aren't going to allow them to participate is such activities.

Let's also take away a woman's right to chose whether or not she can have an abortion. And make birth control even more expensive then it already is. Expensive birth control + abstinence only sex education + the outlawing of abortion = more overpopulation, illegal/botched abortions, lots of pregnant women who can't afford or don't care to get prenatal care (which is dangerous for babies and mom's), and abandoned babies. That sounds like a world I want to live in. Not to mention the fact that Palin's daughter CHOSE to have her baby (or maybe it was Palin who chose since she thinks minors should not get to make that decision on their own either)...but if McCain and Palin were in charge SHE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD A CHOICE! Interesting article: http://www.slate.com/id/2199258

Wait...don't Republican's tend to believe in less government involvement...but let's get the government involved in really important things that affect women's bodies. I don't want the government to decided what I can and cannot do with my body. While we're at it, we should outlaw obesity, alcoholism, and smoking.

I think I'll move to Canada.

Halfway done!

2008-07-08T18:19:00.002-08:00

Last week I officially past the halfway mark of the nursing program. Only 2.5 more semesters to go! We have finished up our first round of Med-Surg, which I will definitely be adding to my list of things I don't want to do. This week we started our OB rotation, where we will spend three weeks before moving on to community.

Today was my first day in OB, I was on the mother baby unit, which is where mom's go after they have delivered and stay until they are discharged home. It was very different from all of the other clinical experiences I have had, mostly because I was not assigned a patient, but instead I followed a nurse. There were also babies involved, and I know very little (medically) about babies, so pretty much everything was new to me today.

Only 289 more days left!

Finally

2008-06-05T11:54:00.002-08:00

So I am finally getting around to updating this. It's been a crazy couple of weeks (well, four weeks actually). My class is only 7 weeks long (followed by another 7 week class to finish the summer semester), but we have to fit 15 weeks worth of material into it, so I have lecture for four hours twice a week and clinical twice a week, plus a two hour lab, and work on the weekends.

Clinical is going well. We just finished our rotation through the medical unit and I will be moving to the surgical unit next week. I've had a couple of interesting patients. The most interesting of which was a huge ethical issue. She has a history a mile long, but was brought into the ER for abdominal pain. She coded en route and required 25 minutes of CPR and was put on a ventilator when she got to the hospital. About a month ago she had been in the hospital for other intestinal problems and had a J tube (feeding tube in the jujenum) and an ostomy put in. She's been in the hospital for over a month, is fairly unresponsive, has a trach, and the doctors have determined that she will never recover. Her husband has accused the nursing staff of trying to kill her and the ethical committee had a meeting and was going to stop all of her life saving measures (but for some reason, probably the husband) they never did. Last week when I took care of her, her J tube was leaking copious amounts of bile everywhere and compromising the integrity of the skin around the opening. The husband was also ordered by the doctor to not be involved in any of her care while she is in the hospital - he was doing her tube feedings (mostly legal reasons I would assume). Taking care of her was an interesting lesson in putting your own personal ethics aside and doing what you have to for a patient in any given situation.

This week I had a couple of interesting experiences. I got to take out a chest tube on a deceased patient, and I had a patient that had a 3cm x 3cm abscess on her butt...it was over 8cm deep! I watched the wound therapist when she did a dressing change and repacked it. It was pretty gross.

Since Thursday's are my short days of class, John and I have been doing some hiking which has been great. Our hike last week was an interesting mix of excessive mud and snow. But it was nice to get out and do something!

Faithful Readers

2008-06-02T21:43:00.003-08:00

Dear Faithful Readers,

I have not forgotten about you. I have much to tell. What I don't have, is time to tell it. I will try to locate some before I forget what I have to tell. Perhaps there is some smashed between clinical and dinner somewhere, or maybe after dinner but before breakfast? No wait...that's when I sleep...

Reality bites

2008-05-10T21:43:00.005-08:00

As my good friend Allison pointed out today when we talked..."your readers are waiting." Although I question the number of faithful readers I have, never fear, your wait is over.

Tomorrow is the last day of a much needed three weeks off from school. I started out my break on a cruise with a college friend, Margaret. We spent seven days in the Caribbean on the biggest passenger ship on the ocean. We went to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. John, and St. Maarten.

Here are Margaret and I having a lunch of sushi and fries

San Juan, Puerto Rico

A view from the Castillo Juan Felipe del Morro in San Juan
Another view from the "castle"
On a ferry from St. Thomas to St. John (about a 40 minute ride)
We went on a hike on St. John to Honeymoon Beach. According to National Geographic, this is the seventh best beach in the world.
Back on St. Thomas, a street in Charlotte Amalie
We went kayaking in St. Maarten. This was our French guide who deemed us "Team M&M" and made it known that we were, in fact, his favorite.
I had a little bit of a hard time adjusting to life again when I got off the ship. It's hard to go from eating a five or six meals a day (included in the cost of the cruise) and having your bed turned down and mints left on your pillow every night, to eating cereal for breakfast, leftovers for dinner, and not sitting on the beach the entire day. But, after the initial shock, and numerous compliments on my carefully acquired tan (yes, my white Alaskan skin tanned, even through SPF 45!), I've come to terms with reality again.

Upon receiving an email last weekend outlining the things I needed to turn in on the first day of class, I quickly un-came to terms with reality (I realize that is far from grammatically correct, but I feel it is the only way to truly capture the essence of my situation). Thus, I have spent the last week in blissful denial that I have to go back to school. In said state of denial, I have accomplished something. I've read two books. The most recent of which I would highly recommend (Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin).

That's about all the updating I have for now. I'll try not to keep everyone waiting for so long next time!

Vacation!

2008-04-18T17:15:00.001-08:00

I'm going on a cruise...and I got all A's this semester. What more could a girl ask for?

Bored

2008-04-17T10:18:00.002-08:00

I'm mostly done with school for this semester (minus the test I have tomorrow), and I'm now patiently waiting for Lucy from Seattle to call me and confirm me on my cruise. I'm supposed to leave tomorrow...if only I could will my phone to ring!

----------------
Now playing: Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart
via FoxyTunes

Uninspired

2008-03-31T19:06:00.002-08:00

I know it's be quite a long time since my last post, but I have been feeling somewhat uninspired lately. I think it's the whole end-of-semester slump thing coming back to haunt me...again.

What have I done since March 1? Well, I went to LA to visit my friend Katie (pictures to follow when I work up the motivation to load them onto my computer). I had a great time. It was nice to have some time in the sunshine (not the kind we get here in the winter...that doesn't count) and replenish my bodily supply of vitamin D (something I have been diligently supplementing all winter long). It was also great to see Katie and get an idea of what life is like in LA. I also got to see a college friend who lives in Portland on my way home. I had a 4 hour layover, so she came and picked me up from the airport and we had dinner.

As for school, things are wrapping up for the semester...thank goodness. Clinicals are still going well. Last week I got to do my first blood draw. My instructor was really impressed with me...apparently my patient's veins were not all that good...but they were MUCH better than the "veins" in a dummy arm!

I also recently got a part-time job. I'm going to work at Kaladi (a local coffee chain) two or three days a week.

As far as things to look forward to (other than the end of the semester), I will hopefully be going on a cruise with my friend Margaret (the one from Portland) once school gets out. I am awaiting confirmation as it is space available (employee deal from my job last summer). I'm keeping my fingers crossed, seven days of sunshine is just what I need after 15 long weeks of academics!

Week in pictures (and some words too)

2008-03-01T14:34:00.008-09:00

Here I am at clinical last week showing off my really ugly white shoes. Don't I look official in my scrubs?
This week we learned how to draw blood and start IVs. This is the dummy arm we practice on with it's "blood supply."
First you have to put on a tourniquet.

And then you have to hope you hit the dummy vein! The worst part is due to the lack of pressure in the dummy arm's circulatory system...you don't really get anything out.

What I learned in school today

2008-02-19T16:27:00.003-09:00

Today was by far the most exciting day I have had in a long time! I spent the day in the OR at ANMC observing surgeries. I even got to participate a little!

I watched three surgeries, two laproscopic tubal bandings, and a non-laproscopic ovarian cyst removal (they ended up doing a lot more than just that though). I got to do catheters on the first two patients. Who would have thought that draining someone's bladder could be so exciting. After the first patient was anesthetized, the nurse asked me if I wanted to do the catheter. I was caught a little off guard...I can do stuff?? Even though I knew exactly what to do, she was very nice about walking me through the process to make sure I didn't forget anything (it's not too complicated - put on sterile gloves, insert catheter, makes sure other end is aimed appropriately). The first two procedures were very fast. After the patient was asleep, the whole process of cleaning and draping them took longer than the actual procedure. The camera goes in through the belly button and then the banding contraption goes in through a port in the lower abdomen. The contraption that puts the bands on the fallopian tubes was pretty neat. It picks up the tube and pulls it into a metal sheath and then slips a tiny little rubber band over the kink (kind of like kinking a garden hose and then putting a rubber band on it).

The third procedure was much more complicated (and there was a lot more blood too). It was a lot harder to see what was going on because it wasn't on a TV screen, but I was able to stand at the head of the bed and see a lot. They ended up removing the patients ovary, appendix, and her cervix (she had already had a partial hysterectomy).

As for the passing out problem...I didn't actually pass out! I got light headed during the first surgery, but not until the doctor was putting the trocar for the instruments in. I sat down for awhile and was better before the whole thing was over. I felt completely fine during the second surgery, but got light headed again during the third one (while I was standing at the head of the bed looking directly down into the huge abdominal incision). Again, I was fine after sitting for awhile. I think the second time it was a combination of claustrophobia (there's nothing like wearing a mask for three hours) and of being hungry and dehydrated.

Fun with needles

2008-02-07T17:49:00.001-09:00

Today in my skills lab we got to play with needles. We did IM (intramuscular), subcutaneous, and intra dermal injections on sponges and hot dogs. I could really use some practice on a real person...anyone need a flu shot?

Clinicals, etc.

2008-02-07T11:54:00.000-09:00

This past Tuesday was my last clinical day in long-term care. I'm glad to have had the experience, but also glad that it is over. In my quest to answer everyone's question of, "what kind of nursing do you want to go into?" I can now say that I do not want to work in long-term care. I am glad that there are people who enjoy it and are good at it, but I am not one of those people.

Next week we do our orientation at the Alaska Native Medical Center. We will be on the orthopedic floor for the remainder of the semester. I am a little nervous about the hospital, especially after my near passing out experience. Hopefully that will go away soon. My good friend Allison told me that in order to cure myself of this ailment, I should go to the burn unit and just stand in someone's room. I don't think I'll be able to do that, but thanks for the advice!

I'm pretty excited to be taking a very mini vacation this weekend. My friend Katie who moved to L.A. in November is back in town for the week. I'm driving down to her parents house in Soldotna on Friday to get her so that she doesn't have to fly in a small plane to get back to Anchorage on Saturday (I know...I'm such a good friend). I'm excited to spend some time with her...and to cure her of her newly acquired L.A.-ness!

I'll never be a nurse now!

2008-01-29T17:05:00.000-09:00

I had an experience today that made me wonder if I will ever make it through nursing school. We had an opportunity to see/do a dressing change on a patient with a PEG tube (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy aka a feeding tube). The patient is not responsive, so this was the perfect opportunity for us. Well...all of us except me. I had to leave the room because I almost passed out. How embarrassing. I don't know what happened because there was no blood or anything, just a hole with a tube in it. Hopefully repeated exposure to such situations will cause this phenomenon to subside. Otherwise, I might have to consider a career change.

Self diagnosis

2008-01-25T14:05:00.000-09:00

Today in class our professor walked in and told us to take out a sheet of paper (a statement which usually causes extreme panic). She told us to write out a nursing diagnosis for ourselves this morning. Nursing diagnoses are designed to address human responses to disease processes. There is a standardized list of diagnoses and they follow a specific format. There is the diagnosis, the etiology, and the signs and symptoms. Here's what I came up with

"Ineffective coping related to being in class on Friday when there is fresh snow to be skied in, as manifested by increased blood pressure, extreme agitation, and a lack of interest in the present class."

I volunteered to read my diagnosis out loud in class. Luckily our professor is one of those people that not only understands, but also appreciates sarcasm.

Let the clinicals begin!

2008-01-24T09:34:00.000-09:00

On Tuesday we had our first clinical day at the Anchorage Pioneer's Home. Luckily, it wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. In class our professor made it sound like they were just going to turn us loose on our elders (that's what they call the residents of the Pioneer Home) for seven hours. Good thing that wasn't really the case! Our clinical instructor (whose name is also Martha) gave us a tour of the facility and then introduced each of us to our elder. We ended up spending most of the day going through their charts to get some information for the paperwork that we have to fill out. We will be doing a complete "mini" assessment of our elder (assessing the major functional areas of their life: activity/exercise, mental status, nutrition, health maintenance, cognition, self-perception, role/relationship, values/beliefs, as well as their medications) and creating an individualized care plan for them.

The facility was very nice and most of the elders seemed to enjoy living there. My elder said that they do a good job of providing a variety of activities and that the staff is all great. The one thing that I found somewhat amusing was the area for those who tend to wander off (I believe it is the acute Alzheimer's unit). There is a set of locked double doors and the side facing the unit is wall papered to look like a brick wall, which keeps them from trying to leave. I just find it amazing that it works!

Dummies

2008-01-19T16:04:00.001-09:00

So this week in our skills lab we learned about changing dressings on wounds and catheterization. Here's the problem with putting in a catheter on a dummy...dummies are not exactly anatomically correct. The male and female anatomy on a dummy is somewhat out of proportion (i.e. the target is MUCH larger than it would be in real life). I have a feeling when any of us get the opportunity to actually put in a catheter, we will all be slightly surprised at how much more difficult it is in real life (at least I realize the hole it goes in really isn't a 1/2 inch in diameter, right?).

Nurse...or mom?

2008-01-16T08:06:00.000-09:00

After class yesterday I was thinking about all that I have learned in the last week or so. I have acquired all kinds of useful skills such as hand washing, feeding others, moving people in bed, bathing people in bed, providing assistance with various aspects of personal hygiene (hair care, mouth care, etc.) and changing linens while someone is in the bed. Am I going to school to learn how to be a nurse, or a mom? I'll have to get back to you on that one...

Also I learned that I'm not going to the Mary Conrad Center next week, I'll be going to the Anchorage Pioneers Home (http://www.hss.state.ak.us/dalp/anchorage/default.htm) instead.

What a week!

2008-01-11T14:20:00.000-09:00

Last semester, students from the semester ahead of us warned us that we would feel overwhelmed and confused at the beginning our next semester, but by the third week it would all make sense. Even after being warned about it, I was still thoroughly overwhelmed and confused. Having one class with four parts that all relate to each other makes for a lot of confusion. Not to mention the fact that in every part of that one class they talk about "in clinical you will be doing this" and "in clinical you will be doing that"...well, clinical starts in a week and there is no way I'm going to know all that before I go! On top of the feeling that I have no idea what I am doing, I also have no idea what I am supposed to read or turn in when or who I am supposed to turn things in to. Why? The calendar is broken down by week and assignments that are due are listed on the week, but with no specific date, who you turn things in to depends on which part of the class it is for and what day it is due and readings vary depending on where you look. Confusing! I hope the "more seasoned" students were right and it will all make sense in a few weeks.

Despite feeling lost and overwhelmed, I do feel like I actually accomplished something. Here's what I learned this week:

When taking a history you actually have to ask, "with what gender do you identify?"
Having your finger poked to check your blood sugar hurts more than you think it might
Feeding fellow students pudding is hard to do without laughing
People actually agree to be filmed receiving enemas so students like us can learn proper technique (I'm not kidding, I saw the video)
I'm not as good at washing my hands as I thought
Talking to dummies (the inanimate kind) is also hard to do without laughing
When inserting an NG (naso-gastric) tube into a dummy, it is not ok to stick your finger in their mouth to check whether it has reached the esophagus...you have to use a tongue depressor (something about pretending to be in a clinical setting...)
It is also not ok to accidentally stab them with a safety pin when attaching the NG tube to their gown
People do not volunteer to be filmed while having an NG tube inserted

Back to school

2008-01-08T17:59:00.000-09:00

The last three weeks off from school were much needed. I was able to catch up with a few friends who were in town for the holidays, work a little (but not too much of course), and play outside in the much anticipated snow!

Yesterday it was back to school. My feelings are a little mixed. I am glad to have something to focus on and to be on a schedule again, but I am not excited for all the work! This semester we only have two classes, but one of them has four parts. It's going to be a challenge just to figure out where I am supposed to be each day. In addition to Pharmacology, I am taking Foundations of Nursing II: Therapeutics. Foundations consists of four parts: theory, clinical, assessment lab, and skills lab. For the first two weeks we don't have clinical because apparently we need to learn skills in the lab before we can go into a clinical setting and practice. After the first two weeks we will spend three weeks in long-term care facility. I will be going to the Mary Conrad Center, a 24-hour nursing care and rehabilitation facility (http://www.providence.org/alaska/facilities/mary_conrad/default.htm). In the long-term care facility I will have one patient for three weeks. I will do a complete health assessment of my patient and complete a set of nursing related tasks (analyze the information, identify nursing diagnoses, and write a care plan). After completing three weeks in long-term care, I will spend the remaining nine weeks of the semester in acute care at the Alaska Native Medical Center. I will complete many of the same activities in acute care as I did in long-term care, but with more patients.

Today instead of having clinical (being the first week) we had a lab. We spent seven hours watching videos about patient confidentiality, hand washing, fire safety, and moving/positioning patients. Not the most mentally stimulating day. Tomorrow I have assessment lab where we will practice the art of interviewing patients and taking histories. The most exciting part is that I get to break in my new stethoscope!

One down...four to go...

2007-12-16T09:19:00.000-09:00

I am officially done with my first semester of nursing school! My grades were decent...depending on who you ask (two A's and two B's). And now I have three weeks to let my brain rot before I need to use it again (just kidding dad, I'm not really going to let that happen).

In addition to finals, I spent this past week collecting on a number of birthday dinners...I'm up to five, and I still have a few more to go. One of them is waiting for me in California (thanks Lisa!)...now I just have to find a way to get down there!

How did this happen?

2007-12-11T09:23:00.000-09:00

I can't believe that today I am a quarter of a century old! What happened to the last 25 years? Surely I'm only 18 or 19...right? Unfortunately I will not be having a huge celebration today. Instead, I will be studying for my Pathophysiology final. I am pretty sure that this is birthday #5 that I will spend studying not celebrating. Thanks mom and dad for having me in the middle of finals week!

Speaking of school, I am almost done with my first semester. Tomorrow will be my last final and then I will be free for three and a half weeks! Next semester I will be starting clinicals. The first three weeks we will spend in a long-term care facility, where we will only have one patient. Then for the rest of the semester, we will be in acute care (I'm not sure exactly where yet).

Let's see...other than that, not much is new. The weather here sucks. It is currently 33 degrees and pouring rain, so I probably won't be skiing any time soon. There has been snow in the forecast for at least 4 out of the last 5 days, but we have yet to see any of that...

Klondike Pictures

2007-11-11T12:15:00.000-09:00

Here are some pictures from my crazy overnight

Pre race drinksOnly 4 miles left...RUN

After being awake for 24 hours and running 11 miles...that is a look of relief!

Post Race

Halfway done (with one semester)!

2007-10-28T16:25:00.000-08:00

I have officially passed the halfway mark for this semester! I feel like I've learned very little for having been in school for eight weeks, but I think that is mostly due to the fact that I have nothing to apply it to yet. Next semester I will be in the hospital for one day a week actually applying my knowledge. I'm sure I will lose track of how much time has passed and this will all be over before I know it...but for now, halfway through one semester is a big deal!

No news is good news...right?

2007-10-17T21:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I wish I had something exciting to report, but I don't. School has been keeping me fairly busy, but not with anything worth mentioning.

The weather also leaves something to be desired. It's chilly, but there isn't any snow. It snowed one night (less than 1/2 an inch), but then it warmed up and poured rain all last weekend. There's nothing like 33 degrees and rainy to motivate you to do nothing and stay in bed all day.

Call me Student Nurse Rosenstein

2007-09-25T15:39:00.000-08:00

Today in school, I learned my first "real" nursing skill. We learned how to prime IVs AND we got to take our IV bag and tubing home to play with (apparently this is a huge responsibility as these are prescription only items). Priming an IV is the process of attaching the tubing and getting all the air bubbles out of the tube so that it can be hooked up to a patient.

This is me after priming my very first IV (now, you realize that I can't actually do anything with it yet...I can just get it ready for someone else to do something with).And here is my IV, ready for administration...maybe

After we learned about priming, we learned how to manually set rates on IVs. Definitely not an exact science. You open the stopcock (the light blue piece has a little rolly thing that opens or closes the tubing) a little and you count the drips from the bottom of the bag into the fluid chamber (the tan thing to the left of the light blue thing) for one minute. 31 drips/min is not an easy thing to accomplish. There is a lot of trial and error involved. I think the electronic IV pump might become my new best friend!

My first test

2007-09-19T15:43:00.000-08:00

Today I had a test. It was the first test I've taken in approximately 5 years, and the first test in my nursing school program. Good news...I passed. I got a B, which my dad was not very excited about (he thinks I should get nothing but A's), but for the amount of effort I put it, I would say that is acceptable. C's still get degrees, right?

What? Snow?

2007-09-16T08:20:00.000-08:00

There was snow on the mountains yesterday...and that can only mean one thing, winter. Don't get me wrong, I'm ready for winter. I'm just not THAT ready for winter.

Update...again?

2007-09-14T08:26:00.001-08:00

It seems like I do more updating that keeping people up to date here...here's what I've been doing for the past few weeks:
Lost Lake Run 8.25.07 (www.lostlakerun.org)
The Lost Lake run is a 16 mile run from Kenai Lake (near Seward, AK) to the Seward Fire Station. It is an amazing trail! You gain about 2200 feet in less than 6 miles and the view from the top is gorgeous. So, after running uphill for 6 miles, you get a little break, then you run uphill for about 1.5 more miles, then you run downhill for 7 more miles. All I have to say about that is OUCH! My time was 3:24:54, which is great considering I was going for four hours! I was sore for about 3 days after...more sore than I have ever been in my entire life!

Me running somewhere around mile 9...don't I look like I'm having a blast?Nursing School 9.4.07
On Sept. 4 I started nursing school. After waiting for almost two years to start...it finally happened. Fairly anticlimactically if you ask me. There are about 40 people in my class, and so far I am not overly annoyed by any of them (that's a HUGE thing for me)! I am taking four classes: Nursing Informatics & Technology (don't ask me what that means because I don't know, it's the class where they put everything that they don't want to make a whole class for), Fundamentals of Nursing, Pathophysiology, and Biomedical Ethics. None of these are very exciting. In fact, the other day I was sitting in class thinking "is this really what I want to do?" and "why am I here?" at which point I almost decided to quit. But, as I am almost 25 and have not yet "done" anything with my life, I figured dropping out after five days really was not the best choice. Besides, when I told my dad I had thought about quitting, he told me he would kill me if I did. If that's not enough motivation to stay in school, I don't know what is! I have discovered that being out of school for two years and then going back is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I am very out of practice doing basic school-related things such as reading and taking notes and studying. I'm sure I'll remember those skills very quickly...I have a test next week and I'm hoping I remember how to study before then!

I would like to take a moment to thank my elementary school education for giving me a skill that one of my professors deemed "essential for being a nurse." Thank you Chugach Optional for making me a full-time learner!

Yukon Road Relay 9.7.07 (sportyukon.com)
Last week I did something crazy (even crazier than running 16 miles for fun). I piled into an RV with 9 people I don't know very well and drove to Skagway, AK to run a 113 mile relay race to Whitehorse (in case you didn't know, that's in Canada). Now, all the things that make up this trip sound like they would be painful and not fun at all (riding in an RV for almost 4 days straight, running a race that goes overnight, camping in the freezing cold, etc.). However, this was possibly one of the best experiences of my life! One of the guys that I work with at my summer job asked me if I wanted to run on their team...they needed a 10th person. The first time he asked, my response was "no way! That sounds terrible." Then after thinking about it for a week or so...I decided that I really had no good reason not to do it. When would I ever have this opportunity again? At the very least, it would make a good story. So I went. We left Thursday morning...drove to Destruction Bay in the Yukon, camped in the freezing cold, got up at 7am, drove to Whitehorse, had lunch, and drove to Skagway. I think we arrived in Skagway around 2pm on Friday. Our first runner started running at 7:30pm Yukon time (now that's a tough concept when you've crossed into and out of a time zone in less than 24 hours...and you are supposed to adhere to a different time zone than the one you are in). I ran leg 9, so I wasn't running until sometime the next morning. Now, that is another aspect that makes this race difficult, not only do you have to run overnight, but after your first runner, you don' t really know when you are going to be running. You can guess...but that's about it. Due to nerves and anticipation, I was unable to sleep all night! I ran at about 9am on Saturday morning (after being up for 24 hours...running is hard!). 11.1 miles late (1hr 53 mins) I was done...and exhausted...and sore. As soon as our leg 10 runner finished, we crammed ourselves back into the trusty RV and headed back towards home. We camped again on Saturday night...I'm not sure where, about 150 miles from the Canada-Alaska border I think. And headed for home Sunday morning.

That was the most unexpected fun that I have had in a long time. I was the newcomer to the team, yet they treated me like I had been around forever, which is a great feeling. Hopefully I made the cut for the team next year!!

Yet another update

2006-11-03T17:13:00.000-09:00

So apparently I'm not very good at keeping this updated. I guess I'm just too busy and important for menial things like blogging.

I'm now working at a new job. Yes, that's right, I am no longer a professional tourist wrangler (that also means less amusing stories about old people on vacation). Now I'm working at North Star Hospital (an acute care psychiatric hospital for kids 3-17) as the Administrative Assistant to the Nursing Department. Right up my alley. Currently my job involves me following around the Director of Nursing and doing whatever she tells me to do. She's awesome though, so it's not as bad as it sounds. Soon I will be doing her bidding in the mornings and then answering phones on the Children and Pre-teen units in the evening.

In non-work related business, I just returned to the great frigid state of Alaska from a fantastic vacation. I went to Portland, OR to visit a friend from college and then we drove down to Santa Barbara, CA for my dad and Paula's non-Alaska Wedding Bash. We left Portland at about 12:30pm on Oct 24, stopped in Eugene, OR to have coffee with a friend and then continued on south for another 8 hours. That got us to Sacramento where we thought we would spend the night. We decided we would drive past downtown to try and find a hotel in the interest of possibly saving money. That was a bad assumption. Apparently every hotel in Sacramento is just North of downtown. So we drove South for another 45 minutes until we arrived in Lodi, CA. We stayed the night listening to the trucks parked at the truck stop next door idle their engines and honk their horns with a little bit of ambient highway noise in the background. The next day we were on the road before 9am. We ate lunch at In-n-Out burger in Gilroy and then met my dad and Paula in San Luis Obispo for coffee before we all headed to Santa Barbara. We then spent four absolutly fantastic days in Santa Barbara shopping, going to the beach and working on our tans, hanging out with my family, partying it up, and eating too much. We both enjoyed Santa Barbara so much that we stayed until the last possible minute. Thus, we got up at 4:30 am on Monday Oct. 30 and drove for 16 hours straight to get back to Portland in time for Margaret to go to work at 9am on Tuesday morning and for me to fly home on Tuesday night.

The sight of our future beach shack

The result of this vacation is that Margaret and I are going to move to California and live in a shack on the beach.

That's the update.

The flood of 2006

2006-08-31T19:28:00.000-08:00

August 19, 2006 was almost the end of the world...ok, not the end of the world, but Alaska almost disappeared underwater. Either that or it was time to start building an ark and collecting animals. I knew it was going to be quite a day when I walked upstairs that morning and heard my boss on the phone saying "well, what kind of whale was it?" Yeah, the ship hit a whale and it was STUCK to the front of the boat.

I was spending my usual Saturday at the airport getting crabby old people on buses to Seward, while the state was flooding. I thought I had it bad when 50 people were going to show up at 5:00pm (we have to send the last bus to Seward by then or they will miss the ship). My boss informed me we would be holding the bus for them as well as the ship. One disaster after another led to the last bus leaving at 6:50pm. When I got back to the office, I realized that was the least of our problems. The road from Talkeetna to Denali was closed because Troublesome Creek flooded and washed out the bridge (go figure that Troublesome Creek would be the "troubled" area). We had guests from Alyeska to Talkeetna that were going to need places to stay and new tour patterns. 40 hours in three days and we got everyone where they needed to go. We ended up sending 4 tours worth of people on the Richardson Highway to Fairbanks, turning a six hour drive into 14+ hours of driving. We put 112 people on a train that only holds 65, and we made 380 turkey sandwiches to send with people on their excessively long coach ride. Not to mention the fact that on Sunday night the phones went out in Talkeetna and we had no way of telling the drivers and tour directors what odd route they would be taking the next day. Luckily one of our employees was at her mom's cabin out in that direction and had cell service, so she called the office and then drove to Talkeetna to relay our messages. It was an interesting few days...but we all came out of it alive, and a little wet.

TV Material

2006-07-26T21:49:00.000-08:00

So I've decided that our office should be the subject of a new TV show, it will be called "As the Ship Turns." If "Airline" is a relatively successful TV show, then why not have a show about the cruise ship industry? Who wouldn't find things like guests yelling and screaming about having to wait 30 minutes for a $74 bus ride to Seward which is three hours away (a taxi costs upwards of $300)? What about sending a one-armed man from Tennessee, who has only been west of the Mississippi once in his life (and he was pushing 70), on a charter flight to Seward, only to have the plane turn around due to bad weather and a mechanical failure. Or how about when you go to talk to your boss at the end of the day and his office phone rings, he answers, then his cell phone rings and he tosses it to you to answer, he gets off the phone, your cell phone rings, you toss it to him to answer, you get off the phone, his office line rings again, you answer it, and so on. Really, it would be funny in a tv show...I promise.

How I spent my Saturday

2006-07-16T21:43:00.000-08:00

I spent this Saturday as I have spent every Saturday since May 27, and will spend every Saturday until Sept. 9, at the Airport, working. On Saturdays we turn our ship, which means a mass influx of people through the airport. Both people coming off the ship and going to the ship (which leaves from Seward) come through the airport.
Here is what happened:

*I got yelled at by a man and his wife who booked their cruise through AAA and their flight home had somehow gotten cancelled. However, when guests don't book directly through the company there is nothing we can do for them regarding their air travel. So I told them this, gave them a phone number, and smiled. It wasn't very effective.

*We recieved a bag from the ship that had been urinated on. We did not know this until the guests picked the bag up around 1pm and brought it to our attention. The guests were very good natured about this and were content when we provided them a replacement bag and a phone number for Customer Service. It is suspected that an intoxicated ship employee committed this act when the bags were collected on Friday night on the ship.

*I had a couple of guests who arrived too late for a bus transfer (they arrived at 5:45pm and the last bus transfer is at 4:30pm because it's a 3 hour drive to Seward and guests need to be onboard the ship no later than 8:00pm). We got them a charter flight to Seward. While I was waiting with the one-armed man and his wife from Tennesee I learned that this was only the second time the man had ever been West of the Mississippi. So we put them on a small plane to Seward where their friends were waiting, only to have a mechanical issue with the plane and have the plane have to return to Anchorage. The couple will miss 1.5 days of their curise as they can't meet up with the ship until Monday when it docks in Skagway.

*We had six bags found at the Hospitality Center at 6:00pm that were supposed to have already gone to the ship as the guests we onboard waiting for them. We put these bags on the charter flight with the late guests...the bags are now sitting in our office waiting to go to Skagway on Monday.

Overall it was a productive 15 hour day. That's how I spent my Saturday and how I will spent the next 8 Saturdays.

Why there should not be a 4th of July parade in Downtown Anchorage

2006-07-05T23:20:00.000-08:00

10:00am – Supervisor makes several attempts made to get from A street to Kaladi on the outskirts of downtown Anchorage (13th & I). Attempts unsuccessful, coffee not obtained, day ruined.

10:15am – Supervisor arrives at office, angry due to the lack of caffiene available at this point in the day.

10:30am - Various issues with manifests, computers, paperwork, etc. caused increased stress (mostly stemming from the unsuccessful quests for coffee).

10:35am – Supervisor contacts employee at the Marriott downtown to come and pick up another employee and return to the Marriott.

11:00am - Other staff memebers arrive. Employee coming from the Marriott still not arrived. Take employee needing to go to the Marriott as well as those going to the airport.

11:10am - employee FINALLY arrives at the yard only to find that he was too late to pick up co-worker as we decided to send her with the airport bound group. SO his supervisors supervisor offers to drive him BACK to the Marriott because she knows that parking will be a disaster.

11:15am – Supervisor arrives as close to the Marriott as possible (about 4 blocks away) drop off employee (after almost killing us all due to cars without break lights stopping suddenly in the middle of the street).

11:30am - Successfully obtain Kaladi coffee after taking the last parking spot in the parking lot (later to learn that my dad was also attempting to park in the parking lot at the same time and was not able to get a parking spot and left in a snit without his coffee). On approach to Marriott the supervisors supervisor realizes that all streets within 3 blocks of the Marriott are closed and there is no place to stop or pull over on L street (shy of Minnesota Carrs) to drop off employee. Due to the FREAKING parade there were cars all around and no place to stop so the supervisors supervisor slows the truck down and informs the employee that he is going to need to jump from the moving vehicle and then walk the 4 blocks to the Marriott. After he wipes the look of shock and fright from his cute little face the employee jumps from the moving vehicle, nearly trips in the street (which because of the parade has become the only vehicle route in downtown Anchorage therefore the busiest street in Anchorage all together!) and dodges through oncoming traffic.

11:31am – Supervisors supervisor then gets trapped in the downtown parade traffic (oh what a mother duck will do for her little ducklings!)

11:40am – Supervisors arrives at airport.

11:55am – Supervisors supervisor finally makes it through the downtown traffic maze to 15th and Cordova (about a million blocks out of her way!)

12:00pm - First flight arrives with two guests. Coach has not left the yard yet due to the fact that there is no possible way for her to get near the Marriott. Tell guests they will have to wait approximately 45 minutes before we can leave the airport. Luckily guests ok with this.

12:05pm – Supervisors supervisor finally makes it back to her office after nearly an hour of battling downtown traffic because of the freaking 4th of July Parade...who in the hell goes to parades anyways?! I mean seriously!

12:45pm - Second flight arrives, guests and bags not shown up yet. Tell first two guests that will be going to Marriott in van so as to not have to wait another half an hour to get on the coach with the second group of guests. Informed need to hurry - window of time allowed to get near the Marriott short due to end of parade and start of a wheelchair race.

12:15pm – Supervisor calls into other supervisor to inform of our approach to barricades.

12:16pm - Arrive with guests at Marriott, allowed near Marriott after other supervisors convinced cops to let us through the baricades.

12:25pm - Take one employee back to office and pick up another and drop off within 4 blocks of Marriott.

12:35pm - Second group of guests leave the airport with a luggage crew onboard to help move bags the 1.5 blocks from the coach to the entrance of the Marriott.

12:50pm - Coach calls in to other supervisor at the Marriott who meets at barricade at 7th and L to move it. Coach pulls through and parks 1.5 blocks away from Marriott, guests walked inside, bags to follow.

12:55pm - 5:00pm - Repeat process five or six times each time having the coach call in on approach to the Marriott and having an employee run 3 blocks to the barricades, move them, let the coach through, replace barricades, run to next block and repeat the process. Coach parks 1.5 blocks from Marriott, guests walked to front door, bags carted behind.

Happy 4th of July to you too...